Tempest Archive

Wizards of the CoastMonday, November 24, 2008

s you may know, Tempest will be released on Magic Online on December 8. If you're a grizzled veteran (like many of us) with fond memories of the set's original release, then you understand why we're excited at the chance to play with it again. If you've never played what R&D member and soon-to-be-inducted Hall of Famer Mike Turian called "the best draft format of all time," (as of 2002, anyway), then you're in for a treat. Tempest Limited is fast and furious.

The set had a big impact, ushering in tournament staples like Cursed Scroll, Jackal Pup, and Tradewind Rider; simple, solid cards like Gravedigger, Overrun, and Rootwalla that have since been reprinted, many of which are currently in Standard; and casual staples like Goblin Bombardment, Dirtcowl Wurm, and the ever-present Slivers. And, of course, it caused more than its fair share of headaches for rules gurus, with cards like Humility, Escaped Shapeshifter, and the Licids routinely topping the list of cards that caused rules meltdowns in the past (but don't worry—they work fine these days).

To help you get up to speed (or back up to speed, as the case may be), today it's our pleasure to present some articles that were originally published in The Duelist magazine, the paper predecessor of magicthegathering.com, around the time of the Tempest release in 1997. We present these articles as a sort of time capsule, and they're as valuable and interesting for what they say about the state of Magic at the time as they are for what they say about Tempest.

Below you'll find links to The Duelist's preview of Tempest, the story of its design and development (as told by someone you'll find familiar), a very outdated look at the minds behind the set's creation, and a bit of deck tech to get you started once the set hits Magic Online. Enjoy!